The 4 most common mistakes amateur golfers make

Despite our greatest efforts, amateur golfers such as you and me proceed to make the identical mistakes time and again. Hey, that’s why we’re amateurs and aren’t taking part in on the PGA Tour, proper?

As a 14-handicap, I do know I’ve started working on each facet of my sport. My drives appear to spray proper. My putts all the time find yourself wanting the cup. I dread ever taking part in out of a bunker. And whereas I can’t repair all the pieces without delay, at the least I do know I’m not alone in coping with these common mistakes.

GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jason Carbone says the next points are those amateur golfers make most ceaselessly, and he gives some tips about correcting the mistakes.

Iron-scooping

Most amateur golfers lose distance as a result of the clubhead isn’t trailing the grip at affect. But there’s a simple approach to repair this error — through the use of a pool noodle.

Get a pool noodle and reduce off one-foot of it. Place it on the bottom pointed at a goal, in order that the aspect that wasn’t reduce is 90-degrees to the bottom, and the place your golf ball can be.

Address this “wall” with a 5-iron, and follow pushing your physique into an affect place — the place your complete face of the membership is flush in opposition to the “wall”. There can be no loft in your 5-iron at this level.

Once you’re feeling affect with no loft, start making some gradual backswings, returning to the “No Loft” affect flush up in opposition to the “foam wall.” Once you accomplish this, make some simple half-back swings, returning the membership towards contact and feeling “no loft” on the froth noodle. When carried out appropriately, the membership ought to slide throughout the bottom and never elevate into the air.

By doing the above drill, you’ll get Tour-player affect, the place the membership is delofted, the deal with is main the clubhead, and the ball may be struck first and compressed.

Driver setup

Carbone says one other common mistake from amateur golfers is their driver setup, with many gamers organising their driver the identical approach they do with a 9-iron.

To enhance each distance and accuracy, you’ll want a sweeping assault along with your driver — and the under tip ought to assist ship that.

With your stance a bit wider than shoulder-width, place the ball underneath your left shoulder. Set up so your head is behind the golf ball and in the course of your ft. Having your head behind the ball will assist your membership catch the ball on a extra stage or upward a part of it’s arc.

Next, really feel the membership fall to the bottom. You’ll discover the ball is now towards the toe. If you wish to begin with the motive force on the bottom, have the ball towards the toe aspect.

Lastly, place an alignment stick within the floor, pointed instantly at your goal. The entrance finish ought to be about knee-high. Now tee up a ball instantly according to the stick, about 1-foot in entrance. From your new setup, merely clip the highest of a tee whereas approaching from in and underneath the alignment stick. Do this till you miss the stick.

Bunker play

One of the most common mistakes amateur golfers make from the bunker will not be specializing in the entrance a part of the divot. But Carbone says the next tip ought to assist right this difficulty.

Place three tees in a row, all according to the flag. The center tee represents the golf ball. The again tee ought to be one golf-ball-width again, displaying the place to enter the sand. The entrance tee ought to be two golf-ball-widths in entrance.

Next, open your membership face about 15 levels and make your regular grip. Take a swing that will get all three tees to fly ahead. If you may enter on the again tee and maintain the membership touring by way of the sand to splash all three tees ahead, you’ll create the right measurement divot.

Finally, exchange the middle tee with the ball, however maintain the front and back tees within the sand. If you may splash each remaining tees ahead, the ball ought to come out effortlessly every time.

Putting

To begin seeing decrease scores, making putts inside 10-feet is important. These putts want to start out on the precise line, so Carbone says to make positive your eyes are seeing the road appropriately. The under drill might help accomplish this.

Using a chalk line, place two sheets of paper about one to a few ft from the opening. Then place two extra sheets of paper six to eight ft from the opening and underneath the chalk line.

Now snap the road — there might be two-foot sections lacking.

When you set as much as the again of the chalk line, do all of the sections look aligned, or do any appear like they’re pointed to the left or proper of the opening? If any look misaligned, experiment with elevating or decreasing your chin, getting taller or extra crouched along with your posture, getting nearer or additional away from the ball, or standing extra open or closed till the traces all look instantly according to one another and to the opening.

Once you accomplish the above drill, you’ll see shorter putts falling into the cup extra ceaselessly — even when the strain is on.